


Take A Breath

by Lilyliegh



Series: Appleshipping Week 2018 [5]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Mechanics, F/M, Fluff, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 10:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14306439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/pseuds/Lilyliegh
Summary: Sometimes, Rin finds herself getting caught up in work and life and adult responsibilities, her mind running a hundred miles per second.Sometimes, Yuugo finds himself wanting to run away with Rin and abandon all their work and life and adult responsibilities.And sometimes, they find the middle ground within each other.





	Take A Breath

**Author's Note:**

> for Appleshipping Week day 05 - reunion.  
> loosely based in the same timeline as [Show Me A Story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14254140), but this fic stands alone without needing any prior information.

(fic inspired by the beautiful art by [dark-angel-of-muses](https://dark-angel-of-muses.tumblr.com/) and [posted with permission](https://78.media.tumblr.com/c95d37924c4b8d39c80f5fbb08586517/tumblr_p74wmnDttW1re7pgzo1_400.png). Please considering supporting her work with a  [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/angelofmuses) or a [commission](https://dark-angel-of-muses.tumblr.com/post/172606775571)!)

* * *

“You want to go … where?”

Yuugo leans closer over the table. “To the forest. Or to the beach.”

Rin chews slowly, with her eyes rolling up to the ceiling. Across from her, Yuugo waits with bated breath. It’s been a while since he and Rin have gone out together, both of them swamped with work and life and adult responsibilities that make Yuugo want to abandon everything and run away with Rin. This house has felt far too cramped the past few days, and Yuugo thinks what both of them need is some time out in nature to clear their heads and hearts.

“We’ve got work –”

“That’s _exactly_ why we need to get out of the house!” Yuugo says, and he nearly bangs his hands on the table too.

Rin appears nonplussed. “I’m … not following you.”

“We’ve been cooped up here for so long, just _working working working,_ and there’s been no time for us to do _anything_ fun. Don’t you think that what we need is a day off to kick back and relax and not worry about all that adult stuff?”

Chuckling, Rin gathers up their breakfast plates and takes them to the sink. “You mean responsibilities?” she says over her shoulder. “You know, if you ignore responsibilities, they’ll pile up –”

“But they haven’t yet!”

“Because we’re doing them.” Rin sighs, a gust of air out her nose, and turns back around. In the sunlight, she looks warm and cosy, dressed for the cooler weather in shorts and a tank top. Yuugo loves every bit of Rin, even when she’s got her hands on her hips like she’s ready to berate him.

“Look, Yuugo … I see what you want to do. I think it would be good to get out, have a breather, go on an adventure – but you can’t just drop off the face of the planet because you need a day off. Sometimes you have to power through it and finish the job so you _can_ have a breather.”

To Yuugo, that sounds like hell. Didn’t his friends always tell him to take care of himself first? What kind of person would put their work over their well-being? But to Rin, it seems to be important. When Yuugo comes round into the kitchen, leaning on the counter and letting the warm sunlight touch his own face, he finds Rin looking like she’s battling demons inside of her.

“How about …” Yuugo begins. “How about just a small break? A little one. You won’t even realise it’s a break until it’s over, but … it’ll help.” With a sigh, Yuugo steps forward and wraps his arms around Rin, pushing his face into her strong back. He feels Rin take in a deep breath and hold it in her lungs, and when Yuugo squeezes her shoulders, she lets it out slowly.

“Let’s just have a break, Rin-rin – just a little one. I know we need it. I know … you need it.”

Rin nods, a bit stiffly, and she doesn’t turn around.

Yuugo presses a kiss into the nape of her neck, and clings a bit tighter should she need him. Rin doesn’t move a muscle, so Yuugo doesn’t either. He holds her for as long as he can, feeling the rise and fall of her breaths, listening to the thrum of her heart. Rin breathes life into everything she does, but sometimes Yuugo thinks she forgets to breathe for herself. Sometimes Rin gets caught up in a million activities and taking care of others that she forgets about herself.

Eventually, Rin steps away and heads to get changed into her coveralls, and Yuugo follows her to the bedroom to change too. They both slip into lightweight coveralls, the kind that don’t make them hot and sweaty in the summer heat. They both match too – baby blue coveralls with moss-green knee-patches, and a white stripe up the side. Yuugo had wanted them to be white like his racing outfit, but since white stains, Rin had suggested a darker colour.

Once they’re dressed, he and Rin head out of the house, down the front steps, and back down a little dirt path. They’re shop is behind their house, a barn-like building that, from the outside, looks abandoned. The great, wooden doors are weather-worn, and the rusty metal hinges creak when Rin opens up the double-doors. Inside though, the garage couldn’t be cleaner. There are long tables along the walls upon which sit labelled toolboxes and drawers. Larger tools are hung on the walls or reside under the tables. There are extra bike parts in one section of the garage, labelled as well.

Every time Rin opens the garage doors, Yuugo smiles a bit more. He and Rin bought this country house and garage as a present to each other. It was quite the haul to clean out the garage, paint it, and organise it, and years of collecting to have such an extensive set of tools and parts, but now Yuugo can safely say that he and Rin run the best mechanic shop in all of the dimensions. It’s the kind of shop people from every city travel to. They’ve earned their reputation through hard work.

“Yuugo? Sleepyhead, you awake in there?”

Yuugo shakes his head; Rin is standing by his side, poking his cheek with her own tongue peeking out of her mouth.

“Awake, awake,” Yuugo says. “Let’s get to work! The faster we work, the quicker we get a break.”

Rin’s smile falls away at the edges, but before she can say anything, Yuugo pulls her forward and into the shop.

They work as team; they always have. If Rin is working on one part of the bike, Yuugo will help her. If Yuugo is stuck with a repair, Rin will come to his side and show him how to do it. Around Rin, Yuugo has never felt embarrassed about asking for help. He knows she won’t tease or berate him for getting it wrong, but instead she’ll support him, taking his hands and showing him how it’s done.

While work is fun though, Yuugo finds himself glancing at the clock far too often, looking for that lunchtime break. More than once he feels Rin’s hand on the back of his head, giving him and slight nudge and saying, “We’ll take a break later, Yuugo – focus first please.”

“If I don’t keep track of time,” Yuugo says, “you’re going to work _through_ your break and then we’re not going to have any free time.”

Rin rolls her eyes.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Yuugo says.

“We’ll take a break, don’t worry,” Rin says.

Yuugo pauses to finish adjusting a screw, and then peeks over the top of the green bike he’s been repairing. “When?”

“When I say so –”

“Then it's not going to happen.” Yuugo jumps to his feet, brushing off his legs and knees. “Rin-rin, if we don’t take a break right now, we’re _never_ going to take a break, and so” – he grabs hold of her arm – “I’m not letting go until we’re out of this garage and somewhere warm and sunny.”

Rin looks down at the hand around her arm, raising one eyebrow. She doesn’t pull away though, or groan, or sigh. She doesn’t do anything for a moment, and Yuugo wonders how much he’s surprised her. Then, without a word, Rin sets down her tools, stands, and walks out. Yuugo holds onto her arm and follows her out of the garage.

The midday sun greets them with warmth, and a gentle breeze tousles their hair. It’s a blue sky and white cloud kind of day, perfect for being outdoors. Yuugo takes a hearty gulp of air, and with his free hand he stretches up to the skyscape and lets out a groan. His back creaks and cracks from being hunched over the bike for so long. When he glances at Rin, she’s standing still.

Yuugo walks his finger down her arm and into the palm of her hand, and then he throws his other hand up, and holds her arm up too.

“Take a big breath of air, Rin-rin!” he says. “You look like you could use it!”

Her eyes widen, lips quivering for a moment – and then she smiles, just a bit, just for him. Yuugo feels all the butterflies build up in his stomach, and he laughs when Rin leans into him. The sunlight has already begun to return the colour to her cheeks, and she looks healthier. Her cheek on his cheek is soft yet weather-worn from hours of hard labour. There’s a bit of dirt on her face too, flecked around her cheekbones like makeshift freckles.

They stand outside the shop together, basking in the sunlight. Yuugo doesn’t even realise when he’s no longer standing on the ground but _rolling through the grass,_ round and round, and when he opens his eyes Rin is kissing him, has him pinned to the ground, has her legs on either side of his, holding him in place.

Yuugo lifts his head and kisses her back.

When they break away, the sky looks even bluer and more breathtaking than it had this morning. Yuugo also realises that he and Rin have rolled farther than he thought, and they’re now a good fifteen or so feet away from the house and towards the row of trees sprouting from the ground. Yuugo pulls himself up to a sitting position and leans back against the tree.

“Hey … hey,” Rin says, coming round to lean behind him, pressing her mouth to his ear.

Yuugo feels his cheeks grow hot.

“Thank you.” She takes a deep breath, and then shifts her head so her chin balances atop the crown of his hair. Yuugo’s not sure how – his hair has some thick gel in it, but Rin treats the strands like they’re as soft as a kitten’s fur. “Hey, remember when we carved our names here? First day we moved in here and you said we needed to make our mark everywhere.”

“We had to or else no one would know it’s our place.”

Rin hums under her breath, rumbling the sounds in her throat. “Does that feel like a long time ago? Us moving, I mean.”

“Feels like yesterday,” Yuugo says.

“Seriously?”

Yuugo tilts his head up. “Feels like I’ve been with you all of my life though.”

And this time when Rin falls over him and they tumble and roll through the ground, Yuugo doesn’t care where they end up, doesn’t care what time it is or if they have to go back to work or _anything._ All he cares about is Rin in her arms, her fingers in his hair, his fingers on her hips, and the space between their faces as they come together for one more kiss.

Because sometimes all you need is a break.


End file.
